While there’s a lot of buzz about Falz’s new song “This is Nigeria”, many people see it as an act of plagiarism. They see him as having copied Childish Gambino’s “This is America” song.
Okay he copied. And so what?
Falz wasn’t just blind to copy, he copied well and produced a masterpiece .
How did he copy well? What can you learn from it?
1. He acknowledged the originator of the concept.
When you want to copy something that doesn’t belong to you, sit down first and understand the copyright laws around that subject. When it becomes clear to you, take action to meet all requirements so that you wouldn’t have to pay with your head when the hangman comes knocking.
2. He used an existing concept to fight a problem in another place.
Falz was smart enough to understand the power behind that single song in bringing social changes in the society. He took the idea, compared it with what change he’s trying to bring into his own society and recorded a killer message.
Study business models that are applied in other countries and see how you can copy from them.
3. He killed it
If you compare Falz’s song with the original song, he did a much better work. He made it more appealing to people than the original song.
It is not just good to copy a concept, redefine it and produce excellence with it.
4. He sits ready for opportunities
If I had decided to pick up the “This is America” song and produce my own Nigerian version, I would have damaged it. Reason being that I’m not a musician and I do not have the technical knowledge to produce a song.
But for Falz?
He’s been doing this. He has not been busy talking about going into music, rather, he has been singing. So when he saw this opportunity, he was ready to grab it.
How ready are you to identify and grab opportunities when they come. Don’t wait until conditions become perfect before you start. Start now and become a student as your grow.
5. All great businesses copied at one time or the other.
There’s no need trying to reinvent the wheel if you lack the capacity to go into R&D. Look around for people in your field who are doing great and find out what you can take away from their business model or life and apply to your own.
When I started writing, I always looked at articles and short stories written by those who were better than me and I still do it today.
When I see any new concept, I pick it up and apply it to my own writing. I started writing for fun until people discovered me and started paying me to write for them. I applied the same principle in learning copywriting. This way, I started making extra income separate from my full time job.
Be open to new innovations and modify to suit what you do.
Copy concepts but don’t steal products.
